3D Printing

Monday, April 14, 2014

Technology has come a long way within the past 14 years starting off with the Segway Human Transporter to the 2013 invention of the 3D printer. Even though both of these inventions seem as if they are really closely related to the start of the advancement of technology compared to the past, they are drastically different. 3D printing is also known as, “desktop fabrication or additive manufacturing, it is a prototyping process whereby an real object is created from a 3D design,” (3ders, 2014). The way that this printer forms objects is unique in that it takes a 3D object and prints layer by layer so in the end the user receives a 3D object instead of a picture on a piece of paper. The fact that the 3D printer can print objects that people can use and that functions as if you had bought it at the store. Toys, food, possibly automobiles, as well as organs are going to end up being all 3D printed depending on how the testing goes. Researchers have already printed food such as cheesy aircraft's, chocolate tractors, and sugar in the shape of miscellaneous objects. In the near future just about every snack will be 3D printed, however foods which are served in restaurants may not be printed because of the freshness aspect. All toys have the ability to be fully 3D printed after the testing is done and the experts have made sure that there are no harmful chemicals in the toys, especially children’s toys, so that if a child puts the 3D printed object in their mouths it will not harm them. Automobiles may all be 3D printed someday; however one would have to be concerned with the stability of a printed vehicle, which is understandable but after a lot of testing they may soon become street safe. Organs being able to be 3D printed is amazing because people who need to have transplants will not have to wait for a donor. All that will happen would be getting tested so that the doctors are able to print an exact organ with the veins and blood vessels matching the patients, so that the new organ can be placed and connected within the patient’s body. This alleviates the time patients, nowadays, have to wait for a new kidney or liver. It is amazing that all of these objects are able to be 3D printed, which will make lives easier and possibly cost less in the long run. This research paper will focus on the current use of 3D printing as far as what has been tested and what has become a success for the printing experts. I will also address the security, social, and ethical issues that may arise as more and more objects become part of the 3D printing world, as well as future uses of the 3D printer.